


Did someone say birthday?

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And no surprises, Birthday, Everyone means well, Gen, Haruno Sakura is So Done, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Naruto is Just Naruto, Sasuke is also so done, So...birthday hijinks and shenanigans, Surprises, Team 7 is trying..., it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28930827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Team Seven get wind of Kakashi's birthday on short notice and get to work planning an epic surprise party for him! But it doesn't quite go as planned, because of course it doesn't. Still, they get lots of help along the way!
Relationships: Dai-hachi-han | Team 8 & Yuuhi Kurenai, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Umino Iruka, Gai-han | Team Guy & Maito Gai | Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma & Dai-jippan | Team 10
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Five Figure Fanwork Exchange 2020





	Did someone say birthday?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [catsinouterspace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/catsinouterspace/gifts).



> Written for catsinouterspace for this exchange and their prompt of Team Seven organizing something for Kakashi's birthday "and it goes horribly awry."
> 
> This exchange was due by the end of January, though it won't be published til a bit later, so I had some fun with the date and incorporated it into the story!

(I don't own any characters etc etc)

Sakura sighed, loudly. "Naruto's late in meeting us," she huffed. "We said we'd meet after lunch! What's taking him so long?"

Sasuke looked at the sky in silence before briefly glancing at her. "Maybe he's taking after our sensei," he wondered out loud.

However, before either could say anything more, the peace and quiet was broken.

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Hey!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw their blond teammate running at top speed towards them.

Naruto stopped when he reached them, placing his hands on his knees and panting, his breath coming out in white bursts in the wintry air.

"You're late, but you didn't have to kill yourself getting here," Sakura informed him, frowning.

"But...I...have...big...news..." Naruto huffed.

"You're changing teams?" Sasuke asked.

"No!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm changing teams?" the Uchiha tried, again.

"No!" both of his teammates yelled at him, and he shrugged.

"Big news!" Naruto said, again.

"Well, are you going to tell us, or what?" Sakura yelled, grabbing Naruto by the front of his jacket. "Well?!" she asked again, shaking him.

"Sakura, stop! I will, I will!" Naruto pleaded, and she let him go. "We have a big mission!" he announced, straightening his jacket.

His teammates looked at him, surprised.

"Kakashi-sensei's birthday is coming up!" Naruto shouted, arms wide above his head. "Isn't that so cool?"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at him, unimpressed.

"Dobe, his birthday already passed," Sasuke reminded him. "It was September, remember? Gai-sensei challenged him to some extra stupid challenge a few days after it, because his team had been out of town for it, or something like that."

"Yeah, but we didn't really know the exact date, just that Gai-sensei challenged him after the fact," Naruto argued back.

Sakura sighed. "Either way, now it's January, so, duh, it's over and done with. Really, Naruto!" she said, shaking her head as she ran her hands over her red scarf to smooth it down.

Naruto looked at one, then the other. "Nope! It's soon! It's in..." Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. "Like, two weeks!"

"And how would you know?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I was visiting Kakashi-sensei in the hospital this morning, and a medic came in and dropped his chart, and I helped pick it up, and saw it!" Naruto informed them. "I really saw it! Plain as day, January 21!"

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look that Naruto couldn't quite decipher.

"Are you sure it wasn't a date for something else?" Sasuke asked, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. "And not his birthday?"

Naruto shook his head. "Definitely not, believe it! It was next to his name, and that's where birthdays always go in charts and important paperwork like that!"

"Did you ask him?" Sakura asked. "Check with him?"

Naruto shook his head. "He was asleep, so I couldn't. But I don't think we should ask, let's just plan something for it!"

"Plan what?" Sasuke asked, fearful of the answer.

"A party of course!" Naruto shouted, beginning to jump around. "A big surpise party! With people, and decorations, and cake, and --"

"Slow down!" Sakura said, cutting him off. "It seems like a lot to do when we're not sure it's actually soon," she commented, frowning again. 

"But we can, and should do it!" Naruto argued.

"That's a hard call," Sasuke sighed, joining Sakura in frowning about all this, or at least more than his usual frown. "We can't really ask Kakashi-sensei, he'll deny it, or be extra vague about it."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Like he does with everything else," Sakura sighed. "Lost on the road of life, or whatever nonsense he'll come up with."

Sasuke nodded. "Exactly. But, and I hate to admit it...if he finds out we knew and didn't do anything, we could be in trouble. I wouldn't put it past him to be spiteful like that."

The genin collectively sighed.

"So....what do we do? Party time?" Naruto asked, hopeful.

Sakura pursed her lips as she thought about it. "Maybe....maybe we can start to plan the party, and get evidence? That way if it's true, we have it all arranged. And if it's not, well, we don't have to have spent more than our time for most of it, until it gets closer?"

The boys looked at her, surprised.

"What?" she asked, shrugging. "I'm not going to get in trouble, so it's the best I can come up with. What do you say?"

"Great!" Naruto shouted.

"I wish I was on a different team," Sasuke grumbled. "But, fine."

"Yes!" Naruto bellowed. "Let's start planning!"

"Sure, but let's get out of the cold, I'm freezing!" Sakura said, and they set off to find somewhere indoors to plan.

_______

"Okay," Sakura said, sipping tea in the corner of a quiet cafe they found. She pulled out a small scroll and pen to take notes. "I think that first, we should give this a name. We can't call it what it is, in case anyone finds out."

Naruto nodded, wide eyed. "Good idea, Sakura! Maybe....Operation Happy Birthday?"

The others rolled their eyes.

"Too obvious," Sakura said. 

"Operation...Celebrate?" Naruto tried again.

"Not quite..." Sakura commented.

"Pain in the butt," Sasuke sighed.

"Naruto, or this?" Sakura asked, laughing, and Naruto made a face of annoyance at Sasuke.

"At least I'm trying!" Naruto argued. "You come up with a name, if you think you're so smart!"

He and Sakura turned to look at Sasuke, who sighed and scowled, thinking about it for a moment.

"Operation Lit Candle," he stated.

"What?" the others asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Lit candle, like lighting a birthday candle? But it doesn't scream 'birthday,' unlike someone else's suggestions," he sneered.

"I like it," Sakura said. "Any argument, Naruto?"

Naruto considered it, but shrugged. "Yeah, it's okay, I guess. Worst case we can change it when I come up with something better!"

"Okay," Sakura said, ignoring his last comment and titling their scroll. "We have a name! And a date...and we know we want to throw a party for him. What do we need for it?"

"A venue," Sasuke suggested.

"Food," Naruto added.

"Guests," Sakura posed, as she wrote.

"Decorations," Sasuke offered.

"Games, or music?" Naruto asked, and the others nodded.

"A cake," Sasuke said.

"And a gift from us," Sakura agreed.

They studied the list in silence for a moment.

"Are we missing anything?" she asked her teammates, who shook their heads. "Okay. Hmm...what do we know about Kakashi-sensei?"

"He's old," Naruto said.

"And lazy, and late," Sasuke added.

"I'm not sure how those will help us with this," Sakura said, frowning.

"Well," Sasuke began. "We'll need help getting him to the party, especially if it's a surprise, which it sounds like we're trying for. We have to make sure he gets there, first off, and that he actually gets there when we want him to."

"Which would be after everyone else has gotten there, wherever it will be," Naruto agreed.

"Maybe Gai-sensei can help us with that?" Sakura suggested, and the others nodded.

"We should probably try to talk to all his friends for help," Sasuke continued. "Assuming he has friends. We can see what they know about him."

"True, he doesn't tell us anything," Sakura grumbled.

Naruto sighed loudly. "What was it he told us our first day? 'I'm Hatake Kakashi'," he began in a false voice. "Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies'."

Sakura laughed. "I'm not sure that was how it went?"

"She's right," Sasuke agreed. "It was more like 'Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmmm. Well, I have lots of hobbies'," he said, mimicking their sensei.

The others laughed. 

"Either way, we don't even know his dreams, likes, dislikes, or hobbies," Sakura sighed.

"He likes that book he's always reading," Naruto said. "But...I don't think we want to do anything with that?"

The three shuddered as they thought about it and quickly moved on.

"Okay, so we know that we know...practically nothing," Sakura said.

"Who can we ask for help?" Sasuke posed. "Other jonin could know him best."

Sakura nodded. "Asuma-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei! And of course, Gai-sensei."

"And Iruka-sensei!" Naruto commented. "He knows just about everything about everything and everyone!"

"And he works at the missions office," Sasuke agreed. "So he does have more access to things than we do."

"Let's put all of them on the guest list," Sakura suggested, "as well as their teams, other than Iruka-sensei, of course. We'll have to ask them who else we should invite too...

"We could ask the Hokage too!" Naruto added.

The others looked at him, surprised. 

"What?" he said, defensively. "The Hokage knows everything too, even stuff Kakashi-sensei won't want us to know."

"Especially stuff he won't want us to know," Sasuke agreed. "That's a surprisingly insightful idea from you," he said to Naruto, who grinned. "How's it feel to have your one annual useful thought? And so soon into the new year?" he sneered.

Naruto sneered back. "You --" he began, but Sakura leaned towards them over the table.

"Stop it now!" she hissed. "We don't have time to fight! We only have two weeks, remember? So save it for training, and for after the party!"

"Speaking of," Sasuke said, shrugging at Naruto. "Who's training us while he's in the hospital?"

They exchanged a look of confusion, not for the first time that day, and reflected on the past few days while Kakashi was away, as they had been given some extra time off, balanced with running random errands around the village.

"Why don't we see the Hokage now?" Naruto suggested. "He can tell us that, and everything else we need to know!"

_______

Not much later, the three genin stood staring up at two ANBU, their masked faces looking down at them.

It was quite the silent stand off.

"And you don't have an appointment?" one of the ANBU asked again, their white, red, and black mask bearing a frown painted onto it that seemed to deepen as their interaction continued.

"He has ears," Naruto whispered to his teammates. "Cat ears!"

"We can see that, dobe!" Sasuke hissed. "No," he said to the ANBU, more confidently. "No appointment, but it is urgent."

"And what is it regarding?" the other ANBU asked, bearing a simpler mask, decorated in three large triangles.

"They also have ears!" Naruto commented.

"Stop talking about ears already!" Sakura said to him. "This was your idea, remember? So, you get us in!"

Naruto nodded and took a deep breath before turning his focus to the Hokage's guards who were currently barring them from entering the office.

"We need some big, top secret information about Kakashi-sensei! And it's extra time sensitive, so there's no time to waste! If he's not busy with anyone, we're sure the Hokage won't mind answering a few questions about him!"

"He's in the hospital after a mission, you know," Sakura added. "We're just trying to be a good team for him," she said, sweetly.

The ANBU studied them again for a long moment, before the one with cat ears left suddenly, jutsuing away.

The genin looked on, wide eyed, and soon the ANBU returned, nodding.

"Sure," the cat ANBU said. "Hokage-sama will see you now."

The kids nodded, shocked their plan actually worked, as the office door opened.

They slipped inside, walking slowly towards the Hokage's desk, bowing as they stopped several feet away.

"Ah, Team Seven!" Sarutobi greeted them.

"Hokage-sama," the team replied in unison.

"Please, relax," the Hokage said. "My ANBU guards told me you have important business for me?"

"We do!" Naruto said. "It's about Kakashi-sensei!"

Sarutobi nodded as he sat back in his chair. "If it's about who will train you while he is resting and recuperating, I think you may join Team Eight, though our medical staff have informed me that Kakashi will not be out of commission for long."

The genin nodded and thanked him for this information.

"I suspect that's not all you need?" the Hokage prompted them.

"No, Hokage-sama," Sakura said. "Umm...did you know that Kakashi-sensei's birthday is coming up?"

Sarutobi considered this as he lit a pipe. "Oh?"

"Apparently," Sasuke said. "Naruto says he saw it, so we started to make plans for it..."

Sarutobi nodded, encouraging them to continue.

"But, we don't know much about him," Naruto sighed. "We were hoping you could tell us things he likes? Foods? Music? Games? Anything?"

Sarutobi puffed at his pipe as he thought about it. "You don't have any information for it?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "Though we were thinking of asking some of the other jonin-sensei."

Sarutobi nodded. "That's a good idea," he praised them. "Why don't you talk to them first, and then if you still need help, you're welcome to come back and see me again?"

The genin nodded, not wanting to disagree even though they felt disappointed to not have gotten any actual help.

"When will this occur?" the Hokage asked them.

"January 21st!" Naruto confidently replied.

Sarutobi smiled. "Ah, so you're saying that you saw his birthday is that date?"

"I did!" Naruto said, nodding several times. "It was on his chart when I went to visit him!"

"I see," the Hokage said, still smiling. "I assume you'd like to hold a party that day?" The genin nodded. "Very well. I can give you a room here, in the tower, to use. What do you think about that?"

Sasuke nodded, and Sakura and Naruto cheered.

"That would be great, thank you!" Sakura said.

The Hokage nodded. "Very good. Now, I'm afraid I have an appointment soon to prepare for, but my staff will be in touch about which room you will be able to use."

"Thank you!" the genin said in unison.

"Oh!" Sakura suddenly said. "It's going to be a surprise, so..."

"Naturally," Sarutobi agreed. "Not a word to him, of course."

"And the ANBU?" Naruto asked, glancing around, raising his hands to mimic ears on top of his head.

Sakura blushed and Sasuke rolled his eyes, as the Hokage chuckled.

"They generally specialize in confidential matters, so I assure you, we can trust them," Sarutobi said.

The children thanked him again and left the office, beginning to wander down to the street level.

"That was surprisingly productive," Sasuke admitted.

"Agreed!" Sakura said.

"Hey, we should see if Iruka-sensei is here," Naruto suggested, and they set off to stop by the missions office.

Sadly, their former sensei was not there, but they were able to learn of his schedule so that they could stop by another time.

"Well, at least we got some information!" Naruto said, optimistically, as they stood on the street outside Hokage Tower.

"Not that much," Sasuke sighed. "And now we're assigned to Team Eight...Kakashi-sensei better get out of the hospital soon..."

Sakura smiled. "It'll be fun! And we said we'd talk to Kurenai-sensei for help anyway, so it saves us time. Speaking of," she said, looking at the darkening sky. "I'm going to head home before it gets dark and even colder. I'll see you both for training tomorrow! Remember, the other teams actually start on time and we don't want to make a bad impression!"

"Yes, Sakura," Naruto sighed, and Sasuke nodded as the three parted ways.

_________

The next day, the two teams met up bright and early to train, though it was delayed slightly when Hinata unexpectedly passed out for a moment when Team Seven arrived.

Smiling, Kurenai led them all through warm up exercises before having Hinata and Sakura train together, matching Kiba and Akamaru with Naruto, and Shino with Sasuke.

The rest of the day was largely uneventful, and as they ate lunch inside a heated training building near the academy, Team Seven made their move.

"Kurenai-sensei," Sakura began. "You know Kakashi-sensei, right? As a..." she paused. "Co-worker? Friend? Comrade?"

Kurenai smiled and nodded. "I'd say so."

"So, you know things about him, yeah?" Naruto asked 

"Hmm," Kurenai pondered. "Like what?"

"Likes, dislikes, hobbies, who he wants to kill," Sasuke posed in a flat tone. The others from both teams turned to look at him. "What?"

"Ah, uh, I'm not sure about that last one," Kurenai said, wrinkling her brow. "But likes and dislikes? In terms of, what? Weapons? Uniforms?"

"Those, and general, normal things, like food, hobbies, interests, what he does in his free time," Sakura suggested.

Kurenai drummed her nails on the table as she considered their request. "What's all this about? You've been his team for some time, and I'm not sure I've heard of you asking about these sorts of things before?"

The three genin exchanged a look.

"It's Kakashi-sensei's birthday soon, and we're throwing him a party!" Naruto said, loudly and excitedly. "We need information so it will be perfect! Will you help us?"

Kurenai looked at them with raised eyebrows. "His birthday? Soon?"

"Naruto says he saw it on the medical chart yesterday," Sasuke said. "We're not sure we believe him," he added, ignoring Naruto's glare directed at him, "but we decided we can't risk it if it's true."

"Ah, that's true," Kurenai mused. "You can't argue with it if you saw it in his chart." She shrugged. "Well, I know he doesn't like fried food. Or sweet things."

Sakura nodded and made notes on the scroll they were using for this.

"That could m-make it hard for a b-birthday cake," Hinata commented.

"True," Shino agreed. "You might want to find an unusual replacement. Like dango, or dumplings."

"Maybe," Sasuke said. "That will probably be cheaper, at least."

"You're able to come to the party, right?" Sakura asked Kurenai. "We're having it on his birthday, the 21st."

Kurenai thought about it for a moment. "I think so, yes!"

"And all of you!" Naruto said to the others. "We need more people!"

Team Eight perked up at this invitation.

"Y'know," Kiba began. "He brings his summons to see our clan, for check ups and all. So some ninken items could be things he likes, or needs."

Naruto nodded. "Like treats, and toys, and food?"

Kiba laughed. "They're summons, not like Akamaru," he said, scratching his dog on the head. "But, maybe? Why not?"

"And we should invite members of your clan who are friendly with him or help him out a lot," Naruto said. "Can you give us a list?"

Kiba agreed, and Sakura nodded along as she wrote furiously. "Got it! Any other ideas from anyone?"

"Gai and Asuma will probably be helpful to ask," Kurenai told them, and Team Seven nodded.

"They're on our list, believe it!" Naruto shouted, excited at the progress they were making. "And their teams!"

"How nice!" Kurenai praised them. "How about this, I'll make sure us jonin bring some of the food, and the alcohol? Help keep costs down for you?"

The genin nodded and thanked her.

"Let us know what you find out for food, and we'll help plan that part," she told them.

"How has he celebrated in the past?" Sasuke suddenly asked, and the table quieted as they all looked at Kurenai.

"Good question!" Sakura whispered, before turning her attention back to the jonin.

Kurenai looked into the distance and thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. He doesn't usually make a big deal of it, he likes to keep it quiet, I think."

Sakura frowned. "Do you think he'll mind that we're doing this?"

Kurenai smiled at her. "I don't think so," she said, and the genin visibly relaxed. "I think Kakashi is someone who doesn't want to draw that kind of attention, personal attention, to himself, since he gets so much of it anyway. But when people inevitably do something for him, he goes along with it. And for this all he has to do is show up, so it should be a win-win."

"We're getting help with that, just getting him to show up will be difficult as is," Sasuke muttered, and Kurenai laughed.

"That's fair!" she admitted. "I won't be volunteering for that, but good luck!"

_____________

The next day, Team Seven found out that Kakashi would be released in two to three days, and so they knew they had to act fast to get as much information from all their sources as possible.

Kurenai wanted to support them in this, and so ended training each day a little early so they could meet up with the other teams.

They decided to approach Asuma first, and found his team at a wide open training ground, where Shikamaru was manipulating his teammates with his shadow possession jutsu.

"Good work!" Asuma called out to his team as he turned to Team Seven. "Hello," he greeted them, pulling out a new cigarette to smoke. "What brings you out here?"

"We found out Kakashi-sensei's birthday is this month, and we're throwing a party," Sasuke told him, deciding to not beat around the bush. "We need information."

Asuma studied them in silence for a moment as he took a long drag of his cigarette, releasing it slowly. "His birthday is soon?" he asked, scratching his beard with his free hand. The genin nodded. Asuma paused again, looking up at the sky as he scratched his beard again, before shrugging. "Sure," he said, returning his gaze to the genin. "What do you want to know?"

"Likes, dislikes, favorite things," Sakura said, pulling out her scroll.

"Favorite foods...miso soup and eggplant," Asuma said, and Sakura grinned as she wrote.

"Any other interests?" Naruto asked.

"That weird book he's always reading," Ino called out, from where Shikamaru was having her and Choji do yoga poses.

"It's not weird, Ino-pig," Sakura sneered. "Just...adult."

"Whatever, Billboard-brow, like that's any better to do in public!" Ino argued back, before sighing. "Shika, can we call it a day?"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Choji added, and Ino sighed again. 

"Sure, I'm getting tired anyway," Shikamaru said, releasing them.

Ino rolled her neck and stretched a little more as her team walked over to join their sensei and Team Seven.

"Well, I hope you're not doing anything around his book, either way," she said.

"No way!" Naruto said, flailing his hands. "Anyway, the party is on his birthday on the 21st, you're all invited!"

"I hope you'll have good food!" Choji laughed. "Hey, my parents have always liked him, I'll talk to them about providing some of the food."

"Great!" Sakura cheered. "Kurenai-sensei said some of the jonin would help with that too," she said, stealing a glance at Asuma, who shrugged.

"Whatever Kurenai says, goes," he admitted. 

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei train with your dads?" Sasuke asked the other genin, who exchanged a look of surprise.

"Maybe?" Ino said.

"Probably," Shikamaru yawned. "Hasn't he trained with, like, everyone?"

"We should probably invite them," Sasuke said. "The more people we invite, the easier it will be for me to leave as soon as possible," he sighed.

"Nooo!" Ino and Sakura shrieked at the same time, before glaring at each other.

"Anyway," Naruto interrupted, loudly. "It sounds like we have a decent idea of food! Ino, can we visit your family's shop to talk about some decorations sometime?"

She nodded. "Sure, come by next week. This sounds like a pretty special event, I haven't heard of us getting an order for Kakashi-sensei's birthday before, so we'll definitely help!"

"Asuma-sensei," Sakura began. "What has he done for his birthday in the past?"

Asuma hummed as he thought about it. "I think he usually tries to get a mission away from the village for it, so I'm not sure. We usually eventually take him out for a meal or something, something kind of low-key."

"Do you think that's what he prefers?" Naruto asked, nervously.

Asuma shrugged. "I think it's what happens because he's out of the village. Who wouldn't like to be spoiled once a year on their birthday?"

Naruto and Sakura smiled and seemed pleased with his answer.

"It's going to be a surprise party," Naruto told them, "so don't ruin it, okay?"

The others nodded, and Asuma laughed.

"Good luck getting Gai to keep it a secret," he cautioned them, and Team Seven groaned in response.

_______

"Okay, we can do this!" Naruto hyped them up. "We go talk to Gai-sensei, get our information, swear him to secrecy, and leave as soon as possible!"

"Yes please!" Sakura agreed. "I'm dreading how loud it will be, between him and Lee..."

Sasuke pursed his lips as he thought about it. "Maybe we should swing by the hospital first?" he suggested, wanting to delay seeing that team for as long as possible. "We could visit Kakashi-sensei and see if we can look in his chart."

Naruto stopped in his tracks and glared at his teammate. "What? You don't believe me?"

Sakura and Sasuke stopped as well.

"No," Sasuke said, flatly. "I don't."

Naruto moved closer to the Uchiha and narrowed his eyes, and Sasuke did the same.

"I'm not an idiot, I know what I saw!" Naruto bellowed.

"And I just want to check," Sasuke retorted. "So we don't make fools of ourselves."

Sakura sighed. "There's no harm in going and paying Kakashi-sensei a visit," she said, hoping to diffuse the situation. "And if we can check, we check. We're wasting time just standing here arguing," she said, grabbing both boys and pulling them along.

A short time later, their hopes were dashed.

"I'm sorry," a nurse told them at the hospital. "Hatake-san is being seen by the doctor, since we're hoping to release him later today or tomorrow. I could let him know you stopped by?"

The team nodded and thanked her, before leaving.

"Well, that was unfortunate," Sasuke sighed. "Let's get this over with..."

They soon found themselves at a far-off training ground, where Gai was watching his team spar, shouting encouraging words at each.

"Yes, Lee! Nice kick! Tenten, great aim, you would have gotten Neji had he not been as excellent in his own training as he is! Such a wonderful display of teamwork and youthfulness!"

Team Seven groaned as they approached.

"He's wearing the same thing he always does," Naruto whispered to his teammates. "It's freezing out here, how come he's not wearing jackets and scarves like the rest of us?"

"Maybe he has a winter uniform that looks just like his other one?" Sakura whispered back. "Like, this one is lined or something?"

"I don't want to even think about that," Sasuke grumbled. "Don't say another word," he hissed, as Naruto opened his mouth.

Gai turned towards them and struck a pose. "Ah, my rival's glorious students! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you on this beautiful January day?"

"Beautiful freezing miserably cold day," Naruto whined, rubbing his gloves hands together. "Gai-sensei, we have questions for you about Kakashi-sensei. Can you help us?"

"Of course! Anything for my rival's team!" the jonin shouted, before turning towards his own team. "That's enough for today! Let us go somewhere warm to talk to your peers and write our report!" he suggested, and Team Seven watched as his own team nodded.

"Hello everyone!" Lee called out as he jogged over. "How are you today, Sakura?" he asked, excited to see her.

"Good, I guess," Sakura mumbled. "Where should we go?" she asked Gai, hoping to put some space between herself and Lee.

Gai led them to a nearby café where they shed their jackets and pushed tables together to sit together.

Neji, Lee, and Tenten busied themselves writing a mission report for an in-village mission they had completed that morning, and Gai turned his attention to the others.

"So," he said, excited. "What would you like to know?"

"What he likes, dislikes, his interests, things like that," Sakura said, pulling out her scroll.

"Ah, are you writing a file on your teacher?" Gai posed. "What a novel idea!"

"Not like that," Sasuke said. "We think," he said, glancing at Naruto, "that his birthday is coming up soon, and we're throwing a party. It's a long story, don't ask."

Gai's eyes widened. "You think his birthday is soon? And you want to hold a party for him? In his honor?"

"I regret so much about my life right now," Sasuke sighed.

"How extraordinary!" Gai bellowed, and the six genin flinched. "Celebrating his birthday now, how cool! How hip! How interesting! How I wish I had come up with it myself!" he cried.

"Uh....yeah..." Sakura said, unsure of how to comfort the older man. "So, we're talking to his friends and people who know him, so we can plan a good party." She reviewed their notes. "We have some ideas but could use anything you have for us."

Gai nodded and read the scroll she passed to him. "Ah, so much good information on him! A job well done!" he praised the genin. "Kakashi's favorite foods include saury," he informed them, passing the scroll back to Sakura, who added it.

"What about games or activities?" Naruto asked.

Gai thought about it. "He accepts all challenges I pose, so I am sure he would be up for anything! But he would probably also be fine with games that anyone can play there."

"How about an aiming game?" Tenten suggested. "Like, pin the shuriken on the missing nin?"

Sakura nodded. "Good idea!"

"The party is on the 21st," Sasuke said to Gai. "Can you help to get Kakashi-sensei there on time? We can't trust he'll actually get there otherwise."

Gai nodded solemnly. "I promise I will do that!"

"You're all invited too!" Naruto informed Gai's team. "Our other friends are coming too, so there will be a good mix of adults and us."

Neji nodded, and Tenten smiled at the invitation.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted. "We are most appreciative for this kind invitation!"

"Well put, Lee!" Gai agreed, and Team Seven collectively rolled their eyes.

"And," Sasuke chimed in. "It's a surprise," he said, staring at Gai. "So not one word of it. At all. Even if he challenges anyone about it."

Gai gave him a thumbs up combined with a blinding smile. "Challenge accepted, my rival's student! I will keep quiet about it but deliver him on time, and victory will be mine!"

"I'm glad we just have to show up," Tenten whispered, and Neji nodded, as Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose.

_______

Team Seven enjoyed having some extra time off that weekend, and resumed their training with Kakashi the following week.

They were happy to be training with their regular sensei, but this posed a new challenge, as they now had to keep the party under wraps.

And so, they decided to not work on it for a few days. However, they realized that they were pressed for time, and by mid-week they started to head off after Kakashi dismissed them to work on the party.

Unfortunately, something, somehow seemed to tip off Kakashi.

"I can't help but feel that something is up," he said to them later that week, hands in his pockets as he stood in front of them, studying them.

"What do you mean?" Sakura innocently asked.

Kakashi shrugged and tightened his scarf, pulling it higher to cover more of his regular mask. "You're not fighting amongst yourself as much as you usually do. You've had surprisingly good teamwork all week."

"Maybe it's just that we missed you, and since you were in the hospital, we want to be on our best behavior," Sakura said, smiling.

"Maybe we're maturing," Sasuke commented. "Naruto may have finally gotten his head out of his --"

"Hey!" Naruto interrupted. "I'm plenty mature, teme!"

Sakura sighed, and Sasuke barked out a laugh.

"Sure, dobe," he said to Naruto, sarcastically.

Kakashi nodded as he shrugged. "Yeah, there's my old team. Good to know you're not getting soft on me."

He watched as his genin shook their heads.

"If there's nothing else, can we be dismissed?" Sakura asked.

"Why so eager to leave? Do you have big plans?" Kakashi asked her.

"What? No!" she quickly said. "I mean, yes, kind of. Ino and I are doing something, so yes..."

"And I wanted to tag along!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "And I was going to drag Sasuke, so that Ino and Sakura would definitely hang out with me!"

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, who shrugged.

"Naruto is buying me dinner," he commented.

The three genin looked at their sensei in eager silence as he studied them again for a long moment, before finally shrugging.

"Sure, we're done. See you tomorrow," Kakashi said, lazily waving his hand before pulling out his book and walking away.

The genin let out a loud breath as they headed in the opposite direction.

"I think he's catching on!" Sakura sighed. "This isn't good!"

"I know!" Naruto wailed. "He's getting suspicious!"

"We need to start coming up with ways to stall or distract him," Sasuke said. "Especially now that we're in the bigger planning stages."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "We only have one week to go, we can't blow it now!"

They quickly headed to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, where they met with Ino and Inoichi to talk decorations.

"Something fun!" Naruto posed.

"That says 'happy birthday'," Sakura added.

"But nothing over the top," Sasuke commented.

"It should be cute!" Sakura cooed.

"No flowers," Sasuke said. "Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem like a flower guy."

Inoichi rubbed his chin as he thought about it. 

"So," he began. "Some nice green centerpieces? Maybe some succulents, or herbs, maybe some ferns? That sort of thing?"

Team Seven looked at each other and nodded.

"That could work," Naruto said.

"Though, do you have an idea of a price range?" Sakura asked, looking at their scroll. "We're having a decent number of people, so quite a few tables..."

Inoichi laughed. "Hey, it's not every day we can throw a surprise party for Kakashi! It's free of charge."

"Really?" Team Seven asked in unison.

"Sure," Inoichi said. "Plus, we don't get asked to do this sort of thing often, most people do want flowers, and lots of them." He turned towards Ino. "We'll take a lot of pictures to add to our portfolio," he said to his daughter, who nodded.

"That's a great idea!" she said. "I think this could really be the new trend, so that will get us a lot more customers once they see what it could be!"

"You're the best!" Sakura gushed. "Thank you so much!"

They discussed more details, before the three genin set off to Hokage Tower to learn more about their venue.

There, they stopped into the missions office to try to see if their former teacher was there.

Finding him at his desk, they asked to speak to him in private, assuring him it was "top priority" (Sasuke), "very classified" (Sakura), and "so urgent" (Naruto).

Iruka smiled at them. "It certainly sounds like we should talk privately," he agreed, before telling a co-worker he was stepping away for a few minutes.

He led Team Seven to a meeting room down the hall, where they told him of their mission as soon as the door was closed.

"What? His birthday is in about one week?" Iruka asked, looking puzzled.

"That's what the chart said!" Naruto sighed. "Why does everyone give us that reaction when we tell them?" he grumbled.

Iruka laughed. "If everyone else is going along with it, so will I," he said, ruffling the blond's hair.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at their former teacher. "What does that mean?"

"It means, I'm happy to help in any way I can," Iruka clarified.

Sakura pulled out their scroll and passed it to him. "Is there any more information you can give us?" she asked, and they watched as the older man read it over.

Iruka shrugged. "I don't think so, you've got quite a lot of good information there," he said. "Looks like you've done a lot of great work! You have a venue, guests, food, refreshments..."

"Activities," Sakura commented, looking at the scroll with him. "We probably need more ideas for that?"

Iruka pursed his lips as he thought about it. "I think Kakashi-sensei likes the focus to be on others, so he can be a bit more in the background, even at his own party. So, probably a few activities other people can do so they're not watching him. Maybe some music for dancing, or, I know, a book or something people can write about him in? Like a guestbook, or something to record memories of him in? You could direct people to it and it would keep them busy, at least for a little while."

The three genin exchanged a look and nodded. 

"Sure!" Sakura said. 

"That's also one gift from us figured out," Sasuke commented.

"Tenten suggested an aiming game," Sakura remembered. "So that would give us at least three activities!"

"Plus all the good food people are bringing, and we're sure to have a great party!" Naruto agreed.

"The Hokage said we could have a room here to use," Sasuke said. "Do you think you could find out which room it is?"

Iruka agreed and left the room for a bit, returning a short time later. 

"Follow me," he said, and led them to a large event space.

"This is nice!" Sakura cooed, looking at the row of windows along one wall.

"Yeah, and it's big enough to hold everyone!" Naruto cheered.

"It's not bad," Sasuke sighed. "More importantly, it's free."

Iruka laughed and soon left them to continue to plan the venue space out as he returned to work. The genin drew up a an approximate floor plan of where things would go and once satisfied, left the room, only to open the doors and come face to face with an ANBU.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whispered. "It's him! The one with ears! Cat ears!"

"We can see that, dobe!" Sasuke said back, before turning to the ANBU. "Take Naruto first, he's stupid enough to kill easily."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, frowning. "Don't tell the cat ANBU to kill me first! What did I even do?"

"What did any of us do?" Sakura asked the ANBU.

The ANBU stepped forward and the three genin stepped back into the room, watching the ANBU close the door.

"We're so dead," Sasuke muttered. "I blame Naruto for everything."

"I wanted to offer assistance with the party," the ANBU said, and three sets of eyes grew wide.

"What?" Naruto asked.

The ANBU shrugged. "It's for your sensei, so I want to help. Scroll, please," he said, holding out a gloved hand.

Sakura shakily reached for the scroll and passed it to him, and they watched as the ANBU read through, making a few additional notes.

"Here you go," he said, passing the scroll back. "A few points to help, just in case. What time should we be here?"

"Uh..." Naruto said, looking at his teammates. "Six? And we're having Gai-sensei bring Kakashi-sensei here at six thirty?"

The ANBU nodded. "Sounds good, I'll see you then," he said, before leaving in the blink of an eye.

The room was silent as the three stood there, shocked.

"How will we even know if he attends?" Sakura asked, but was met with shrugs by her teammates.

"I guess we'll have to plan for more people coming than we thought," Sasuke sighed. "Good thing the room is big..."

_________

They tried to lay low for the rest of the week, as they didn't want to raise Kakashi's suspicions again.

Fortunately, he seemed to have recovered fully from his mission and resumed being his perceived lazy, book-reading self, and so they fell into their usual routine of training and completing in-village missions, as the genin had asked Iruka and the ANBU to help them not be sent out of the village for the rest of the time until the party. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto found themselves very grateful that this too was normal enough to not raise any cause for concern in their jonin-sensei.

They were able to continue to plan and make arrangements, however, by meeting the rest of the Rookie 12 for dinners here and there. No one seemed to notice that perhaps they met a bit more frequently than they had been, but it was the only way for Team Seven to safely get word to the other jonin about party news and plans.

Soon, there were two days before the party, and they were making the final adjustments.

"Okay," Sakura began. "Food is all taken care of, tables and chairs will be set up before we get there, adults are bringing their alcohol."

"Anko-san said she'll handle the music," Sasuke added. "And the decorations will be set up earlier that day by the Yamanakas."

"And we have everything we need for games!" Naruto reflected. "We still need to get another gift for him from us..."

Sasuke and Sakura sighed.

"I'm over all of this," Sasuke grumbled. "Let's just give him a gift certificate to somewhere or for something."

"I don't know," Sakura said, biting her lip. "It doesn't seem very personal..."

"Who cares if it's personal?" Sasuke said. "It'll be useful."

"Let's keep it as an option," Sakura compromised.

"We should still have a cake," Naruto suddenly said, and his teammates turned to look at him. "What?"

"A cake? Even though Kakashi-sensei hates sweets?" Sakura asked.

"And this close to the party? I'm not going to a bakery looking to order some dumb cake," Sasuke said.

Naruto shrugged. "I know he doesn't like sweets and we'll have other dessert options he may actually eat, but it's his birthday! Everyone should have a cake on their birthday, even if it's just a symbolic thing, or ceremonial, or whatever."

"I'm still not running around to a bakery for it," Sasuke reminded him.

"We could make one!" Naruto said, jumping up in his excitement. "Believe it! We could just bake one and decorate it and he'll love it!"

"I haven't made a cake in a while," Sakura admitted. "Have either of you?" The boys shook their heads and she frowned. "Where would we even do it? My family's oven isn't working great right now."

"And neither of us have one," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto.

"I could see if Iruka-sensei could let us use his," Naruto said. "Oh! Aren't there, like, spare kitchen areas in some of the shinobi apartment buildings? Communal ones or whatever?"

"Like, the jonin apartments?" Sakura said. "I think so. Do you think we could use one of them?"

"Worth a shot!" Naruto said. "Let's see if Asuma-sensei or Kurenai-sensei can help us!"

They set off from the training ground they had been using as a meeting place to find the adults, running when they saw them...only to slow down when they saw that not only were Asuma and Kurenai together, but they were with Kakashi!

Unfortunately, the adults saw them heading towards them and so they couldn't really run away, especially due to the fact that Naruto had yelled out to Asuma before seeing who else was around.

Panting slightly to catch their breath, the genin were greeted and watched by the adults.

"Did you need something after our training?" Kakashi asked them. "Though, you were calling out for Asuma..."

The group watched as Kakashi turned to study Asuma, who shrugged. 

"What's up?" he gruffly asked the genin, who exchanged a look.

"Uh..."

"Ah..."

"We were wondering..."

They paused for a moment, before Sakura spoke again.

"We were wondering where Ino was, if you knew? We didn't see her at her family's shop, and she said she had something for me."

"And Naruto and Sasuke are eagerly helping you?" Kakashi mused.

"Yes?" Sakura said. "No? Ha," she awkwardly laughed. "It's food, I think, so of course Naruto was interested!"

"And he bet I couldn't run faster than him," Sasuke said in a monotone. "So I raced him."

"Huh," Kakashi said. "I see..."

"Well?" Sakura asked Asuma, who shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, but when Sakura's eyes widened, he nodded. "I could help you look, I guess, just one place or two. If she's with Shikamaru and Choji I could talk to them about tomorrow's training, so it actually works out."

Team Seven thanked him and waved goodbye to Kurenai and Kakashi as they left.

"That was close!" Naruto whispered. "Do you think he's suspicious?"

"Maybe," Asuma said, as he lit a cigarette. "It's so close to the party, does it matter? The biggest thing now is making sure Gai doesn't cry all about it to him..."

Team Seven told him of their new plan and he agreed to get them use of a kitchen for the day of the party.

"Speaking of," Asuma began. "What will you do to keep Kakashi busy while you're baking and running around doing whatever that day?"

He watched, bemused, as the genin paled and exchanged a worried look.

"I know!" Naruto said. "Let's talk to Iruka-sensei, maybe he can help keep him busy!"

Asuma laughed and wished them luck, as everyone commonly did whenever they talked to them about the party, and they parted ways, with the genin heading to the mission office.

There, they patiently waited in Iruka's line, until it was their turn, grateful that Kakashi was not anywhere in or near Hokage Tower.

"Hello again," Iruka greeted them. "What can I do for you?"

Team Seven moved in closer, and he leaned forward to talk to them.

"Iruka-sensei," Sakura said in a low voice. "We need to keep Kakashi-sensei busy on his birthday, during the day. Can you help us?"

Sasuke nodded. "We can't even really train with him that day, or not for long at least."

Iruka nodded solemnly. "Sounds like a big deal. I'll see what I can do," he agreed. "Hmm...he was just in the hospital, right?" The genin nodded. "Well, maybe I can pull a few strings and get him a medical check up that day? Kill some time at least."

The genin agreed and thanked him before leaving, exhaling once they were back on the street outside the tower.

"I can't wait for this to all be over," Sasuke sighed. "I never want to organize a party ever again."

"Agreed!" Sakura said. "Or, at least not for a long time!"

______

True to Iruka's word, as Team Seven was completing an in-village D-rank mission the next day, a messenger hawk swooped by and delivered a message to Kakashi, who read it and grumbled.

"Is everything okay?" Sakura asked, innocently.

"It appears I've been called in for a medical appointment tomorrow," Kakashi sighed. "Something related to my last visit. Though, I was good and stayed the whole time, so this seems unusual and unnecessary."

"Maybe it's because you stayed there the whole time for once," Sasuke chimed in. "Maybe they think something's not right with you since you actually complied."

"Ah, such a kind observation," Kakashi mused. "How's the de-weeding going?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and returned to his work.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began. "What time is your appointment?"

"Eleven."

"Huh," Naruto said. "So...can we have tomorrow off, then? Since you'll be at the appointment, and it's mid-day, and who knows how long it could go for?"

Kakashi studied his team, who looked hopeful at the thought of a day off, and shrugged. "Sure, do whatever you want. But don't be late for training the next day, we'll make up for it then."

"Like we're ever the late ones," Sakura said under her breath.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked.

"I was saying that I hope your appointment goes well!" she said, rolling her eyes once her back was turned towards him.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and while the genin had thought they might be able to start shopping for cake ingredients that day, Kakashi suggested they get ramen after completing the mission, provided he didn't have to write the report.

The next day, the day of the party, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke met at their usual time and hightailed it to the market to buy their items, one of them always on guard and keeping an eye out for Kakashi.

They remembered suddenly that they still needed a gift in addition to the guestbook, and so opted to get a quick gift certificate from a bookstore, as well as a plain card to put it in.

They were soon running to the jonin apartment kitchen Asuma had secured for them, breathing a sigh of relief that they had made it that far without being spotted.

"Okay, so we have the cake mix, eggs and whatever else needs to go in it, frosting, and decorations," Sakura reviewed.

"Seems pretty straightforward," Sasuke said, reading the cake box. "Where are the cake pans?"

"Here!" Naruto said, rummaging in a cabinet. "Good thing Asuma-sensei checked in advance for us, one less thing to worry about!"

"Let's get started then, the cake will need to cool completely before we can frost it," Sakura said. "Naruto, turn the oven on and preheat it to what the box says, okay?"

Naruto nodded and turned to the oven, before moving to help Sakura and Sasuke mix the cake ingredients.

_______

Two hours later, and the three of them looked at the kitchen in horror, eyes wide and unblinking.

"What..."

"How..."

"Uh..."

"We're so dead," they said to each other in unison.

"How could this have even happened?" Sasuke groaned. "You turned the oven to the right temperature, didn't you?" he asked Naruto, who nodded.

"I did, I did!"

"He did," Sakura agreed. She looked into the oven and frowned. "I think it's not us as much as the jonin who are to blame, they left something in here that caught on fire..."

"Leading to a gross, blackened cake," Naruto sighed.

"And scorch marks all along the walls in the kitchen near the oven," Sasuke added. "Good thing so many people are out of their apartments right now..."

"We just need to get the smoke smell out, and then...then, I don't know what," Sakura said, opening a window and fanning the kitchen.

"Can we make another one?" Naruto asked.

"We don't have another cake mix," Sasuke sighed. "At least the frosting didn't get used yet."

"Hey, I know!" Naruto yelled. "Let's just buy a plain cake, and decorate it ourselves!"

"Do they even sell those?" Sakura asked, frowning. "And where?"

"I don't know, but do we have time to make a whole other cake and let it cool?" Naruto sighed. "It's...already almost eleven...and we still have a lot of other things to do..."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment, thinking about it.

"Well, it's worth a shot," Sakura admitted. 

"We could get it, and just decorate it at the party room," Sasuke suggested. "No sense in coming back to the scene of the crime here."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "Let's clean up, get a cake, get some ramen for lunch, and get to the party to set everything up!"

"And hope Kakashi-sensei doesn't see us!" Sakura reminded them. "Let's get this place cleaned, quick!"

______

Property damage behind them, the rest of their plans went as hoped.

They found a plain cake, ate lunch (looking over their shoulder the entire time), and ran over rooftops to Hokage Tower to the room reserved for them.

The tables and chairs were already set up, so they sat in a corner to decorate the cake, covering it in white frosting they dyed a light blue, and writing "happy birthday K-sensei" on it in a darker blue, as they ran out of room for his full name.

"He won't care...probably..." Sakura sighed.

Before they knew it, others arrived to continue preparations.

The Yamanaka Flower shop came to set up decorations and centerpieces. The Akimichi clan brought food and serving stations to keep things appropriately hot and cold.

Anko brought in a civilian DJ to set up his music, and the other genin teams and miscellaneous shinobi trickled in to set up gifts, games, and a bar.

"Whew!" Naruto sighed. "What a day, and the party hasn't even begun yet!"

Sakura nodded. "It's almost time, though." She went to find Anko, and asked her to make a time announcement to the party.

"Oi!" Anko bellowed. "Ten minutes til the birthday boy is expected, everyone get ready!"

"How will we know he's coming?" Ino asked Team Seven.

"An ANBU said he'll keep an eye out and will let us know when he and Gai-sensei enter the tower," Sasuke informed her.

Soon enough, the Cat ANBU did just that, and the partygoers, of which there were quite a lot, began to settle at tables, eagerly watching the door.

"The Hokage is in a meeting but will join you as soon as he can," the ANBU told them, before disappearing.

"Rival, what a youthful challenge we just participated in!" the room could hear Gai loudly exclaim. 

"Sure, but I don't see why we had to come all the way here after," they could hear Kakashi reply, close to the door.

"Ah, I told you that I left a notebook here, and if I do not retrieve it tonight, it may be lost! We can go to our victory dinner after!" Gai responded.

Then, the doors to the room flew open and the two men entered.

"Happy birthday Kakashi! Happy birthday Kakashi-sensei!" the room cheered.

Kakashi stood there, unblinking and taking it all in.

"Rival! Surprise! Happy birthday!" Gai chimed in.

"Maa, what's all this?"

"Your birthday, of course!" Gai said, and Kakashi turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Come, let us begin to celebrate!" Gai continued, and began to drag Kakashi around the room.

The party took off then, with people mingling, wishing him well, and beginning to eat and drink.

Team Seven watched as Kakashi began to make the rounds, before Gai motioned them over.

Joining them, Gai looked at them with tears in his eyes. "And here is your most joyful team, who organized this whole affair!"

Kakashi turned to look at them. "This was all your idea?"

His students nodded, waiting for his reaction.

Scratching the back of his head, he studied them before shrugging. "Why?"

"Naruto saw the date in your chart when you were in the hospital," Sakura said, shooting a look at her blond teammate. "So, we didn't want to miss it!"

"And we thought, why not go big and make a whole party out of it!" Naruto added.

"Then it just kind of snowballed from there," Sasuke sighed. "Can I leave now?"

"No!" Sakura and Naruto shouted at him.

"If I have to be here, so do you," Kakashi told Sasuke. "After all, you're a host of all this."

"Were you surprised?" Naruto asked, grinning. "I bet you were, weren't you!"

"I was truly not expecting this," Kakashi admitted, as Asuma and Kurenai waved him over. "I'll catch you kids later," he said, leaving them.

They watched him go, and Sakura and Naruto cheered, pleased their plan worked, and the three set off to grab dinner themselves.

Later, the Hokage and other shinobi had joined the party, and games were being played and music was blasting, leading to some guests getting up to dance. 

Iruka happened to pass by the table that Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke were sat at, and they waved at him.

"Thanks for keeping Kakashi-sensei busy today!" Sakura told him.

"It wasn't me," Iruka said. "I talked to a medic, but they said he was actually due for a follow up appointment today anyway, so there was nothing to actually take care of." Iruka shrugged. "Seems like it had been scheduled since before he left the hospital," he said, as he walked away.

"Huh," Naruto said, thinking about it. "I guess Kakashi-sensei forgot about it, since he seemed so surprised to get the reminder. Must be because it's his birthday and he was distracted!"

"I don't think he would get easily distracted by his own birthday," Sasuke said, frowning. "Remember that no one could really remember him doing anything big for it in the past?"

"Well, maybe that's why?" Sakura chimed in. "He could have been distracted by needing to, like, hide or something so we wouldn't celebrate it."

"Whatever," Sasuke said, shrugging. "It's all done now. Finally."

They made their way over to the other teams and joined them for conversation and playing a game or two as the party continued. 

Later, it was all winding down, and Team Seven began to wander around, thanking people for coming to the party. Or, Naruto and Sakura did; Sasuke was begrudgingly following them.

They approached Kurenai, Asuma, Iruka, and Gai, and overheard them in conversation.

"Such a great idea!" Kurenai said.

"I know, to throw a party today! It took so much planning!" Asuma agreed. "I wish I had thought of it, did you see the look on Kakashi's face?" he said, laughing.

"Hey!" Naruto said as the three approached the adults. "What do you mean, you wish you thought of it?"

The adults looked at them in surprise, and Asuma scratched his bearded chin.

"You'd better tell them," Kurenai laughed.

"Me?" Asuma asked. "Hell no. Kakashi!" he called out.

The group watched and waited for the copy nin to meander over.

"Yo," he said, joining them.

"Asuma finally spilled the beans," Iruka laughed. "I thought it would be Gai, in all honesty."

"About what?" Sakura asked.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded.

Kakashi shrugged. "I have no clue," he said. "Anyone want to explain?"

The adults looked at each other, before all looking at Asuma, who sighed.

"It's not his birthday," Asuma explained, and the genin looked at him blankly. "What? It's not."

"What?" Sakura asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's true. It's...well, I'm not going to say when, but it's later in the year. Much later."

"Are. You. Kidding. Me." Sasuke groaned.

"Did you know? Did you all know?" Naruto asked the adults, who nodded. "What?!"

"Well, it seemed so sweet," Kurenai explained. "That you wanted to throw your sensei a party..."

"We didn't want to burst your bubble," Iruka added.

"Such a youthful idea!" Gai sighed.

"Did everyone know?" Sasuke demanded, and to the genin's horror the adults all nodded.

"Even the hokage?" Sakura asked, and was met with another round of nods. "This is a disaster!" she groaned.

"Dobe!" Sasuke hissed at Naruto. "This is all your fault!"

"Me? What did I do?" Naruto argued back. "I told you, it was in his chart when I went to visit!"

"In my chart?" Kakashi asked. "My medical chart?" Naruto nodded. "I'm afraid not. Why would the hospital put such important information in my chart for anyone to see?"

"Agreed," Iruka said, frowning. "It sounds like none of you remember that lesson? In-room hospital charts leave out certain information that not everyone needs to know. Addresses, dates of birth, next of kin, that sort of thing. It's kept in a classified area within the hospital."

"Uh....I guess we forgot," Sakura said, giving an awkward smile. "I can't believe we actually believed you!" she said to Naruto, scowling at him.

"But I saw it in his chart!" Naruto whined.

"What, today's date?" Kakashi asked. "Yeah, I had a check up already scheduled, remember when I got the reminder for it yesterday?" He shrugged. "They learned the hard way to schedule my follow up visits as soon as I get to the hospital so that if I leave early --"

"When," Kurenai chimed in.

"-- I already know when to supposedly come back," Kakashi continued. "You actually thought it was my birthday, instead?"

His students sighed deeply, giving him a silent answer, and he shrugged again.

"Well, while it was inaccurate, people seemed to have fun," Kakashi said.

"And they worked really hard on it," Iruka said.

"Such dedication, such involved teamwork!" Gai added.

"Huh," Kakashi mused. "That's all true. Well, thank you. I guess I could give you tomorrow off from training, to give you a rest from all the work you did for this."

The kids' faces brightened instantly.

"Really?" Sakura asked, hopeful.

"Sure," Kakashi said, waving a hand. "Just promise me one more thing."

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"Never throw me a party again," Kakashi posed, and his genin agreed.

"Hey," an older shinobi said, passing the group. "Anyone hear anything about a fire in one of the jonin apartment buildings today? No one knows who did it."

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke exchanged a silent look before claiming tiredness, and ran out of the room, down to the street.

"Let's also promise to never go into that jonin building again!" Sakura said.

"And to never bake a cake again," Sasuke added.

"Agreed!" Naruto sighed. "Although, I wonder whose birthday is coming up next..."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback and suggestions welcomed!


End file.
